Summer Project Plan

In the July 2012 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazines, Marnie Soman suggest that during downtime, nudge your kids to create a family history. She states that it will not only capture important info on your family, but it's also a terrific way to get the generations bonding. Below are a few suggestions:

1. You can go low or high tech: Your child can call Grandma and take notes as they talk.

2. They can chat with Uncle Ted via iChat (on your Mac).

3. Google Voice (which works with your existing phones) and record the conversation.

Here are the favorite questions to get the dialogue going, courtesy of StoryCorps (storycorps.org) a nonprofit that's recorded more than 30,000 stories of American life that are now in the Library of Congress:

1. How has your life been different from what you'd imagined?

2. What was my mom and dad like when growing up?

3. What's your very first memory of me?

4. How would you describe a perfect day when you were young?

Just get started and the ideas will come while you and your children begin to capture the history of your family.